


Strategic Movements

by Hanatamago



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Academy Era, Fluff, M/M, Rodrigue Week 2020, mutual feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23235247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanatamago/pseuds/Hanatamago
Summary: "Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd." Rodrigue fought back a smile. He had work to do, notes on tactics to review, and Goddess, Lambert was not making it easy.“Yes?” Lambert had never been fond of rainy days. Surely he could practice lance forms in the indoor training grounds. Instead, he was here. Being a distraction. A charming, irresponsible distraction that Rodrigue had unfortunately grown terribly fond of."You are trying to distract me.” He laid his hand over Lamberts, stilling it over the buttons."Is it working?”
Relationships: Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd/Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30
Collections: Rodrigue Week 2020





	Strategic Movements

Rain pattered against the stained glass windows, nearly deafening as the downpour rushed over the rooftops. By all rights, the air should have been cold and musty in the nearly vacant Blue Lions classroom, but it was not. No, the air crackled with a dizzying sort of electricity. Rodrigue could have sworn that a tiny ray of light pierced through the clouds just perfectly aligned to light his seat at the desk, but the sky was unyieldingly stormy and grey in its entirety. The sunlight was only his imagination - a trick of the mind brought on by the bright, restless prince beside him.

"Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd." Rodrigue fought back a smile. He had work to do, notes on tactics to review, and Goddess, Lambert was not making it easy.

“Yes?” The blond prince in question looked up, feigning guilt in deep blue eyes, even as his arm coiled around Rodrigue’s waist. He fiddled with the gold buttons on his waistcoat. Lambert had never been fond of rainy days. Surely he could practice lance forms in the indoor training grounds. Instead, he was here. Being a distraction. A charming, irresponsible distraction that Rodrigue had unfortunately grown terribly fond of.

"You are trying to distract me.” He laid his hand over Lamberts, stilling it over the buttons. Of course, Rodrigue couldn’t summon enough irritation to truly reprimand him. One day, years from now, Rodrigue would settle into the distance pushed between them. In private, perhaps they could keep these stolen moments of fondness, of closeness that revealed the true nature of their bond. In public, they would be King and Duke, nothing more.

Each of them would marry. Each of them would produce an heir. Rodrigue would still serve as his faithful shield still, and perhaps they might take tea together each moon, but Lambert had a country to rule. Rodrigue wouldn’t dare hold him back. One day, he would take a queen; he would move on from Rod’s affections. Lambert deserved to find happiness in his future, and who was he to stand in the way of that?

"Is it working?” Lambert’s voice pulled him back to reality,

“No.” He lied, pointedly staring down at the thick tome in front of him, _War of the Elements: A Treatise on Battle Maneuvers in Unfavorable Terrain_. Lambert pouted. Rod did his best to ignore the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He gestured to a worn book at the edge of the desk, last moon’s reading. “Perhaps you might learn a thing or two from that tactics primer. We do have an exam next week, after all. You would do well to study for it.”

“Come now, Rod,” He chuckled, pulling the smaller man into his lap. “How could I focus on tactics when I have something much more interesting before me?” Strong, sun-kissed arms coiled around his waist. Even if he did want to wriggle out of Lambert’s grasp, he could be near-immovable when he wished to be this obstinate. Damned lion’s blood…

“I may not always be at your side, you know.” When had Rodrigue’s voice become so airy? “One day, you may have to lead your army to battle without me. What then? Will they have no worthy commander?”

“Truly, do you mean to tell me you would abandon your king, Rod?” Lambert teased, whispering just behind his ear. Of course he wouldn’t leave Lambert’s side, not unless the fates saw fit to rend the very ground beneath them. He swore an oath. To each Blaiddyd, a Fraldarius. Rodrigue gave himself to Lambert, sword, shield, and heart.

“Will my king be so lost that he could not command a battalion on his own?” Rodrigue laughed, surprised at his own breathiness. “I should hope to the Goddess that you can, else, all of Faerghus is doomed.” Lambert’s chuckle rumbled through his chest. He had long since lost his place in the book’s passage on desert fighting tactics and battalion formations designed to make up for the lack of cover. 

“Alright, then. First, I would study my enemies very closely.” Mischievous fingers traced the span of his chest, idly toying with hidden metal clasps under the front of his tunic. “In forested terrain, I would send low fliers or unmounted scouts to stay unseen, but in clear terrain, stealth is impossible, so high fliers are preferred for their evasion and high travel speed.” Perhaps he had learned a thing or two about tactics, although _when_ , Rodrigue could only wonder. With how often he skipped class, Rod imagined the only time Lambert studied was over his shoulder.

“For a simple enemy, say, bandits, I would send a small band of armored troops to meet their forces head-on. Archers on the flanks would pick away at their defenses.” He freed the first clasp of Rod’s vest, roaming downwards towards the second. He didn’t have to look to know it would likely be bent. Lambert never had the controlled delicacy required for such things.

“You’re quite cunning,” Rodrigue murmured, breath stumbling into an erratic rhythm.

“Then, while they’re distracted,” Lambert tugged down his collar, stringing kisses along what little he could reach of Rod’s neck, “I would go for a rear assault.” Goddess take him…

“If I could slip past their defenses,” He tugged the hem of Rodrigue’s tunic out from his breeches, slipping a hand underneath. “Then I’d have them at my mercy.” Lambert’s calloused palm danced along his abdomen, slowly climbing upwards. His lips ghosted over Rod’s ear, teasing him with the barest hint of teeth.

“Lamb, s-someone could walk in on us…” Rod shivered in his embrace, glancing towards the door. The storm hadn’t faltered, it was unlikely anyone else would fancy a stroll in the courtyard or venture into the classroom. The rain pounding on the roof offered them some promise of muted privacy, but nonetheless, such open advances were reckless. Rodrigue would gladly pledge his life to serve Lambert, to see his ambitions through, but if he was to succeed in his reforms, there could be no troublesome rumors. No complications.

“Come, my room isn’t far,” Rodrigue whispered, lacing his fingers between Lambert’s. The blonde looked towards the storm outside, frowning. “Perhaps a cold shower might do you some good.”

“You wound me, Rodrigue.” Lambert tried his best to feign hurt, but Rod could see the glimmer of excitement in his eyes. He began to gather his books, hoping to make up for some of his lost study time later that night. Of course, Lambert insisted on carrying them back, even if they weren’t nearly heavy enough to warrant the offer.

If Lambert nearly broke the door handle rushing into his room, no one would know, and if Rodrigue didn’t manage to study any more that night, no one would know either. The words he said, that no one else could hear, would live in his heart, and his alone, for the next many years. For now, they’d steal away for a private, cherished moment, and history would be none the wiser.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on Twitter :)  
> [@hanatamagos](https://twitter.com/hanatamagos)


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